Collapsible easel



P. H. WELGKEB.

GOLLAPSIBLE EASEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23,1921.

Patnted Sept. 5, 1922 Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

1,427,880 PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL II. wnLoKnn, or str. PAUL, MINNnsora7 AssIsNon ro BROWN a BIGELow, or sr. PAUL, MINNESOTA, A. conroRA'rIoN or MINNESOTA.

Application ined Jane 23,

To-aZZ fw wm t may concern v'Be it known that I, PAUL St. Paul, in thecounty of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and use- 'ful lmprovement in Collapsible Easels, of which the following is a' speciiication.

This invention relates to a collapsible supporting easel, which is designed primarily to be secured or attached to an article so that it is readily set up to form a support or easel on the back of the article. An essential teature of the invention is the collapsible nature or' the same. Then the easel is collapsed it lies fiat against the back of the article to which it is attached in a plane approximately parallel to the body of the article, which affords the article being mailed or shipped in a flat compact state so as not to take up a great deal of space;

Heretofore various designs of easels have been made for the purpose of obtaining a practical means for supporting an article when it is set up so that it will stand by itself, preferably in an inclined position, but practically all of these constructions have lacked the simplicity which is essential in a device of this nature. Moreover devices heretofore have been so constructed that the support engages only a small portion of the surface in back of the article, while a design of this invention is such that the easel has a wide contact element which insures suiiicient bearing to form a rigid support.

This easel is of a simple inexpensive construction, being formed from a flat thin piece of cardboard or other suitable material which is attached at one end to the article which it is designed to support, while the other end is formed with a locking tongue which engages a stop on the article in a manner to hold the easel in position under spring` tension. The locking tongue serves to prevent the easel from collapsing when it is in use and insures rigidity of construction.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification Figure 1 is a rear view of the article to which my easel is attached and showing the same in supporting position.

Figure 2 is a side end elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a central cross section of the same in collapsed position.

The drawings illustrate the easel A which 1921. `Serial No. 479,807.

- ris formedot a ,singlepiece ofnflat material H. WELOKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at;

ayffOD 11.y offytheeaselA is .secured along its 10, such `as cardboard, thinsheet material, `orother'suitable material.,V Thebody porupper edge 12 by staples 13 or other suitable means, to the back of the part B which urnish part ot the easel when the same is in use.

The body portion 11 oi the easel A extends in a manner to form a tongue 14 which is adapted to lie normally parallel with and beneath the lower end 15 of the body portion 11. easel are secured together by means of staples 16 or otherwise so as to cause the tongue 14 to normally have a tendency of lying against the inner surface of the lower end oi the easel body. The tongue 14 can be either an integral part of the body portion 11 of the easel A, 'or a separate body attached to the end 15 of the same. However, the means of attaching the body of the easel along its upper edge 12 and the securing of the tongue 14 and the end 15 together should be such as to hold the parts securely together so that they will normally lie in a comparatively Hat plane on the back of the part B to which the portion 11 is attached as illustrated in Figure 3, when the easel is not desired as a support.

A shoulder 17 is secured to thepart B in a manner so that the free end of the tongue 14 will engage the same to space the lower end 15 away from the lower edge 18 of the part B when the easel is set up in position to support the part B at an inclined angle. The body 11 and tongue 14 of the easel Aare of suflicient resiliency or of such a spring nature as to cause the tongue 14 to engage the stop 17 under spring tension while the body 11 has a tendency to draw or force the tongue toward and against the back of the part B, which prevents the easel A from collapsing while in use. In this manner the tension of the body and tongue of the easel has a tendency to hold it in locked position so as to support the part B.

It is apparent that the stop 17 can be formed in a suitable manner either or' a nature so as to form a pocket for holding eXtra leaves or sheets 19, as illustrated in Figure 1, or a single lug or member extending across the back of the part B, as illustrated in Figure 2.

The collapsible nature of the easel A The tongue and lower end 15 of the' makes it particularly adapted for mailing the part B through the ordinary mail in a fiat compact state Without danger of injuring the easel and the simple inexpensive construction provides a supporting easel which is very desirable for desk calendars, advertising signs and articles of a similar nature.

`What l claim is: i

A collapsible support, including a display tace'7 a pocket secured to the back of said display face, a bracket member secured on one end to said pocket comprising a base member and a tonguey extending AJfrom the free edge of said body member, means for clamping said tongue near the free end of said bracket member to cause said tongue to normally lie against the body of said bracket with the free edge extending toward the attached end of said bracket, whereby When the free edge of said tongue is inserted beneath the edge of said pocket the body of said bracket is spaced from said face member in a manner to form a support for holding said face member in an inclined position.

PAUL H. WELCKER. 

